A series of unwanted kisses
by could-i-have-a-word
Summary: After overhearing Lory and Ren talking about somebody kissing Ren, Kyoko assumes Kimiko has made a move and doesn't know what to do. Ren is confused about Kyoko's odd behaviour and can't get the picture of Sho kissing her off his mind. Both of them get an evening very different from what they expected. This takes place after chapter 259


"How out of it were you that you let her kiss you?" Lory asked with raised eyebrows.

Not even five minutes earlier, Lory had arrived unannounced at Ren's apartment, apparently having just found out about the kiss between Ren and a famous actress, and having then made the decision that they needed to talk about it. Immediately. In person.

Ren, on the other hand, had made the decision that Lory needed to get out of his apartment. Immediately.

"Did you have to come here just to talk about that? Anyway, I'm surprised you didn't find out earlier, considering that it happened an entire day ago," Ren replied with an air of nonchalance.

Couldn't Lory have found out earlier today and just called Ren to his office instead? Or even come to Ren's apartment yesterday? Or, better yet, just leave?!

"You should be happy that I didn't find out earlier. That the entire world doesn't know already. That nobody took a picture." _That we know of, anyway. _"Not everyone is lucky enough to be asked before pictures are published."

Lory sighed, his demeanor calm in contrast to that of Ren, who had tensed as he was reminded of a picture of another kiss.

"Really," Lory continued. "If I had known that it would get you this distracted, maybe I wouldn't have shown it to you."

He shook his head. Then he grinned.

"Tsuruga Ren. Finally you're part of a scandal, or at least something that has the potential to become one. It's exciting news, though I have to say I was hoping maybe this first for you would involve a certain other girl. What will _she _say when she hears of this, huh?"

"She _won't_. Like you said, you've got it all under control. Was that everything you wanted to talk about, then...?"

"But don't you have at least a small urge to tell her? Just to see what her reaction would be?"

Ren glanced at the clock on the wall, then placed his head in his hands and sighed. His sigh turned into a groan. He didn't go as far as to scream, but he wanted to. The president really had to have the worst timing didn't he? Ren didn't have time for this. Not today.

"Please. We can talk more about this tomorrow. Just leave will you?"

A doorbell could be heard ringing from the hall, if one was listening for it. _Crap_, Ren thought. He looked over at the clock again. Then he fought back a smile. _Punctual as always._

Still, disaster was no longer preventable. If only the president had listened for once and left earlier...

The man in question was looking over at Ren with narrowed eyes, his smile gone.

"What, do you have anything better to do? You would never go to bed before midnight, so you have at least three hours."

Ren caught himself before accidentally letting out a relieved sigh. He hadn't noticed!

But it was only a matter of time before he did.

Once again, Ren had to stop himself from sighing, this time out of helplessness, frustration, and dissapointment. This was _not _how Ren had wanted this evening to go.

* * *

Outside his apartment stood the subject of Ren's evening plans, wondering if he perhaps wasn't home yet. But Yashiro had been entirely certain Tsuruga-san had no reason to be anywhere but home...

Kyoko leaned her head to one side. Just what was he up to?

Maybe she should just leave. In all honesty she had never been certain she should come anyway. After all, Kimi-

Kyoko shook her head violently. _No! _She had told Tsuruga-san she would come and she wouldn't back out.

She rang the doorbell again. Still no answer. It was getting a bit worrisome...

Suddenly she heard a voice coming from inside his apartment. Was he talking to someone? Who? Could it-

Unable to help herself, Kyoko put her ear against the door. She heard ... a male voice. A male voice that wasn't Tsuruga-san's. Relief washed over her.

When she realized what the voice was saying, however, she tensed again, and her grudges peeked out.

"And you let her kiss you - _in public, too -_ because of that! You really are quite the lovesick idiot."

_No! He wouldn't! __**She **__wouldn't! __**Didn't they say she doesn't love him back?**_

Before she could stop herself, Kyoko burst through the door to Tsuruga-san's apartment.

* * *

The two men inside the apartment were shocked, to say the least, at the sudden sight of Mogami Kyoko.

Tsuruga Ren had thought his uninvited guest would find out about his (invited) guest soon, but certainly not like this! _Wasn't the door locked? Did Lory forget to lock it? No, whether the door was locked or not, why would Mogami-san just enter like that?!_

However shocked the apartment's inhabitant was, Takarada Lory, the uninvited guest in question, was more shocked. For the same reasons as the actor, and a couple of additional ones. _Did Ren perhaps invite her over to discuss the picture? Is this a regular occurence? Wait, I'm certain I locked the door. . . Has Ren even given the girl a key? Just how far have the two come in their relationship?_

Mogami Kyoko herself was shocked too. _Did I just burst through the door? Did I, a lowly newbie, just burst uninvited through the door of Japan's top actor? Wait, was the door not even locked? Does he keep his door unlocked? That's dangerous Tsuruga-san! Someone could enter without your permission! It already happened! I already did it! Oh god, I entered his apartment without permission. How will I ever explain this?_

Kyoko was frozen, too horrified to even apologize for her reckless, terrible behaviour, when the male voice that wasn't Tsuruga-san's spoke again.

"Hello, Mogami-san! Ren didn't tell me you were coming," came its words, accompanied by a meaningful look in Tsuruga-san's direction.

She hadn't even noticed him until now, but as she did she realized what a truly horrible situation she had gotten herself stuck in.

The president had also seen her embarrass herself like that.

The president, who knew her circumstances. The lovemon. Surely, he wouldn't let this slide. Oh no. Oh no no no. This was bad.

"I was just about to leave anyway! You can both pretend I was never here!"

The president smiled at the two of them. He once again sent a meaningful look in Tsuruga-san's direction. Then he looked at Kyoko, and she knew immediately that this was not the end of this.

_Come back, _she wanted to scream_. It's not what you think! This isn't related to love in any way!_

But that would give things away to Tsuruga-san.

And it would also be lying wouldn't it?

This was _not _how Kyoko had wanted this evening to go.

* * *

Mogami-san was cooking silently with an aura that told Ren that she was _not_ to be approached. He had expected her to apologize profusely for entering his apartment, only stopping after being reassured time after time again that it was alright, and for everything to return to normal. Instead she had just silently started cooking. Neither of them had uttered a word since the president left.

Ahh, how long had it been since then? Ren didn't know. It felt like forever. He wondered what could have happened. Maybe it had something to do with _that guy._

_No. _He calmed himself. Told himself not to jump to conclusions. He should ask her.

"Mogami-san, is something wrong?"

She stilled for a moment, then kept on chopping vegetables as if nothing had happened, though noticeably more aggressively.

"Why do you ask?"

A sickly sweet voice that was definitely hiding something.

Apparently he needed to be more straight-forward.

"You entered my apartment suddenly, and haven't uttered a word since."

Silence.

"Really," he continued, acting nonchalant, "I would never have thought you would do that, let alone that you wouldn't apologize afterwards... "

She stiffened once again, then turned around and smiled at him. A pleasant and calm smile. Relaxed.

"Ah, I'm sorry Tsuruga-san," she said and bit her lip. "You didn't answer the door after I rang the bell at least ten times, so I just checked if the door was open, and it was. Do you not keep your door locked? That's a bit dangerous, isn't it? Also, is your doorbell broken, by any chance? Surely, you can't have been _ignoring_ me. Either way, I apologize if you found me rude. You weren't speaking either, so I thought it was fine."

_Because the tension around you was so thick that I felt like you would murder me if I even made a sound!_

Mogami-san bowed. Not her normal bow, but a more... normal bow.

Okay, something was very wrong. First of all, Mogami-san wasn't acting like Mogami-san at all, and second of all, her explanation was a blatant lie. It might have been believable, if it wasn't for the fact that she was Mogami Kyoko.

And then there was also the fact that she had slammed the door open so loudly that half the building must have heard it. What was going on?

"Mogami-san, are you lying to me?"

Kyoko hesitated. Here Natsu would have probably said something about wondering if he wanted her to have burst through the door for any other reason. Just to make him squirm. But _she_ couldn't. She couldn't let herself hope it could somehow be true, especially when she knew-

He liked someone else. She wasn't allowed to forget that. He gave her a gift for white day, and not Kyoko. She hadn't even given him chocolates, so that excuse didn't hold up anymore. There was no denying that Kyoko wasn't even high enough on the Tsuruga Ren scale to recieve a return gift, while this girl was. The president had even called him a lovesick idiot. And she had kissed him! Did this mean she liked him too, or did it mean she knew he liked her and was using it to her advantage? What about that other man?

Maybe she should tell Tsuruga-san. Warn him that the girl he liked wasn't who he thought she was. Warn him that she liked someone else. Warn him that she would do anything to get what she wanted even if it included throwing someone off a building, or breaking someone's heart. But wouldn't that just be selfish? She didn't want to be the selfish devious girl who did everything to keep the man she loved away from other women. She didn't want to have love turn her into a monster. If Tsuruga-san knew the truth he would be heartbroken. But she couldn't just let Tsuruga-san be used like that.

Moko-san's words echoed in her mind. Couldn't what she had told her during the shooting of Shotaro's PV apply here? Tsuruga-san loved her, and that was his choice. She wasn't going to ruin both of their chances of happiness. And if she did tell him... Well, hadn't Moko-san said that she would hate her?

On the other hand, what might have happened if someone warned Kyoko of Shotaro? Now, afterwards, she would have killed to get a warning... but she probably wouldn't have listened back then, like the idiot she was.

Still, what if Morizumi Kimiko ended up breaking Tsuruga-san like Fuwa Shotaro broke Kyoko?

"Mogami-san?"

"Who kissed you?" Kyoko blurted out.

Tsuruga-san stared at her, letting the silence stretch out between them before finally replying.

"Excuse me?"

Kyoko was about to apologize for asking so rudely but... she couldn't back down. She needed to find out what that girl was thinking. What she was doing to Tsuruga-san. What Kyoko could do to protect him. But Tsuruga-san didn't know that she knew. She wasn't supposed to know. A lowly kouhai was all she was after all.

"Who kissed you?"

* * *

"Mogami-san, you must have gotten something wrong. Nobody kissed me."

Ren didn't know what to say. Had the president told her? How did she know?

"Why was the president here then?"

He must have told her! But why was she so damn aggressive? The determination was visible in her eyes, the way she stood and... everything about her. Why was she so determined to know?

"Mogami-san, are you perhaps jealous?"

He said it with a teasing smile. Mogami-san stiffened. She looked disgusted. Ahh, way to ruin his dreams. It was evident that she wouldn't back down though.

She mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, could you said that again?"

"Was it Morizumi Kimiko?" she asked once again, still looking determined but at the same time... defeated.

Morizumi Kimiko? The actress he had worked with on Purple Down? Sure, she had seemed like she wanted to kiss him, or rather like she wanted him to kiss her, but he had kept turning her down and it had never led to anything. More importantly, he hadn't even met her in ages. Where had Mogami-san gotten that idea?

Ren laughed. Mogami-san pouted, looking so cute that he had to hold himself from hugging her. He smiled.

"Stop laughing at me! Is it such a weird thing to ask? You _said-_ ... She said- "

"When did you meet Morizumi Kimiko?"

"At the audition for Momiji. She-"

"The audition! Right!"

In the midst of everything he had almost forgotten why they were there. Mogami-san had gotten her role, and they were celebrating.

"Let's finish our celebratory dinner shall we? I think the rice is getting cold."

"I am _not _letting you cook."

"Okay, okay!" he laughed. "I'll wait in the living room."

* * *

The dinner was ready and it looked delicious enough to make even Ren hungry. As the two sat down to eat, he struck up conversation again.

"How did the audition go?" he asked. "I mean, I already know you got the role, but how was it? And how did it go for your friend?"

He was shocked when the girl sitting oppposite from him dropped her utensils and cried out.

"It's horrible, Tsuruga-san! Moko-san didn't get the role. What was that director thinking?! Moko-san was great, and I don't see why-"

As Mogami-san continued to speak about how amazing and perfect her best friend was, Ren smiled softly. She was always so enthusiastic about Kotonami-san. Both of their worries were all forgotten, as Mogami-san happily talked on and on about how good her friend's performance was. That was, until...

"-and Moko-san was _so cute_ when she blushed! You know, she actually saved me when-"

The change in the mood was sudden. Kyoko looked down.

"What is it, Mogami-san?" Ren asked, confused.

She sat silent for a couple of seconds before answering.

"If it wasn't Morizumi-san, who kissed you?" she asked quietly.

"Ahh..."

This again.

"It was another actress. An older one."

The younger actress in front of him looked confused. _Oh, if only she had been the actress kissing me..._

"She's called _. We had talked briefly at the bar, and then she kissed me out of the blue before going home. I didn't really want her to kiss me Mogami-san. I don't know if you can believe that, but-"

"I believe you."

Mogami-san smiled at him, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why it looked so sad.

"You didn't want it, I believe you."

Suddenly he felt guilty for ever thinking she would willingly kiss that bastard, while she on the other hand was so trusting of him. Still, didn't that probably mean that she didn't like him, that he had no chance? She didn't even seem a bit jealous. Oh god. The president was right. He really was a lovesick idiot. It didn't matter what Kyoko did, he would always twist and turn it to see things that might not even be there. But whether he wanted it or not, one thought kept popping up in his brain.

_What about that guy? _

* * *

Dinner had been eaten, the dishes had been washed, and Kyoko and Tsuruga-san were chatting while watching TV and eating a light dessert when he suddenly turned serious again.

"Mogami-san, how do you feel about Fuwa Sho?"

The question, seemingly unrelated to whatever they had been speaking about, grabbed Kyoko by surprise.

"Huh? Sho? Why are you bringing him up all of a sudden?"

A terrifyingly sparkling smile.

"Please, just answer the question."

Well, let's see... the last time she saw Sho was...

When she had informed him that she wasn't leaving Tokyo until she fullfilled her dreams and ambitions. He had acted a bit childish, but that had really been the worst of it. And the time before that, when he kissed her, she had succesfully simply told him to go away, instead of blowing up like she might have earlier, or crying, or whatever else she could have done.

Yeah, Sho wasn't really such a big deal. The place he occupied in her heart had grown smaller, and maybe it wasn't a place of pure hatred anymore. Maybe the wounds he had inflicted on her had finally begun to heal. He wasn't threatening her career as an actress anymore.

That's when another pair of lips were suddenly on hers.

* * *

Ren knew he shouldn't be doing this. He knew she didn't want this, he knew she would probably hate him for this. Maybe she would never speak to him again. He would be thrown into the prison in her heart that bastard had been in once, and he knew he deserved it.

First of all, he was kissing her without permission. He really was stooping to that guy's level, wasn't he? He was such a jerk!

But he hadn't been planning to do it. Mogami-san's answer to his question had been worse than he had imagined it might be. She had just sat there, deep in thought for a few seconds, and then she had smiled. Such an angelic smile, as if she was the happiest girl in the world. All while thinking of Sho. Wanting to clear her thoughts of the singer, he had acted without thinking.

The kiss barely lasted more than two seconds, as Ren pulled away quickly to apologize for his actions.

Before he could say anything though, her lips were on his once again as she grabbed his head. This one only lasted about a second though, before Mogami-san pulled away once again, and started apologizing like her life depended on it.

"I'm so sorry Tsuruga-saaan! I shouldn't have done that! Really, you've already had enough unwanted kisses and for me to get carried away and kiss you-"

Ren didn't know what to say. _She_ was the one who got carried away?

"Mogami-san please. Didn't I kiss you first?"

"Yes, I know, but surely you had a reason for that, a lesson you wanted to teach me, and here I am interpreting it as something else and kissing you and-"

A sliver of hope. Maybe he had been seeing everything in the wrong way. Maybe she saw something in him, after all.

"Mogami-san. Did you want to kiss me?"

Looking like she was contemplating whether she should tell him the truth, she took quite some time to answer him.

"Yes... I'm sorry, I'll go. I understand if you never want to see me again. But hey, actor's rule of heart, right? You don't have to count it as a real kiss. Sorry, I'll go now"

She stood up and started to walk away but he grabbed her arm.

"Mogami-san"

_Here goes._

"I want it to count."

"What?"

"I... I'm in love with you."

She stood there, gaping at him.

"Truth is, I have been for a while. And I didn't kiss you to teach you a lesson or anything like that, I kissed you because I was stupid and impulsive. I'm sorry. But... do I maybe have permission to kiss you again?"

He looked up at her with hopeful eyes, and suddenly he noticed that she was shaking.

"Tsuruga-san, please don't make fun of me."

"I'm not-"

Tears were welling up in Mogami-san's eyes.

"What about Morizumi-san? Are you practicing for your confession to her or something? Because if you are, please stop."

Really? Her again? What was it about Morizumi Kimiko?

"Where have you even gotten the idea that I like her?"

"From you! And from her! She's seventeen years old, she fits the description of the girl you love! And you gave her that ring!"

Ren didn't even hear the last part, because all he could think was: _who told Mogami-san about me being in love with a seventeen-year old girl?_

Who knew about it? Yashiro-san had always suspected it, but he wouldn't betray Ren like that would he? _Unless he was trying to hint to her that I like her... _Surely, the president wouldn't tell anyone... Right? Who else was there?

Right! The chicken! Had the chicken betrayed him? That's what he got for confiding in strangers, he supposed, but the chicken had seemed so trust-worthy at the time...

"Mogami-san, this might be a weird question, but do you perhaps know a man who plays a chicken in a show on TBM?"

Kyoko stiffened. So he was right. The next time he went to TBM that chicken was going to-

"It's me! I'm the chicken!"

What?

"I'm sorry for never telling you about it, but I thought..."

Suddenly it all made sense. Looking back, he wondered why he hadn't made the connection _sooner._

"Mogami-san, have you ever thought... that seventeen-year-old might be you?"

"But Morizumi-san-"

"Why was she at the audition anyway?"

"She was also auditioning for the role of Momiji."

"And when did she say anything that implied that I might like her?"

"Before one of the tests in the audition, right after she found out that i like- oh. She lied just to distract me. And it worked! If it hadn't been for Moko-san-"

Ren smiled deviously.

"You like me that much, huh?"

* * *

Kyoko screamed internally. The emperor of the night had appeared!

"I told you, please don't tease me!"

_My fragile heart can't take it!_

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy. I could never have imagined that you liked me, to be honest I was really nervous."

And there was his grudge-killing smile. She really couldn't take it.

"I think... I'm going to leave now."  
Tsuruga-san looked up at her, shock and hurt evindent in his eyes.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, it's just... I think I need some time to think things over."

"Should I drive you?"

"No! I'm sorry, I just want to be alone for now. I'll take a taxi."

She grabbed her bag and headed to the door.

"But it's much safer if I-"

"I'll call the president to come get me then! I just- Goodbye, Tsuruga-san."

"I- Wait."

She stopped, but she didn't let go of the doorknob that she had already turned halfway.

"I meant it. You know that right? I love you."

She didn't anwer him. Instead she simply opened the door and walked out.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! I wrote this right after chapter 259 came out which is... A year and some months ago now. Found it on my computer and posted it with minor editing* because why not? (It would get harder and harder to post with time...) If you have time and opinions, I'd love a review. :)

*Removal of an unnecessary Hamilton reference


End file.
